Taping machine



Jan. 13. 9 5. 1,522,502

N. C. DAVIS 'TAPING MACHINE Filed Mai-l 21, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 N. c.DAVIS TAPING MACHINE Filed May 21, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet WIT/VESSEs Jan.13, 1925. 1,522,502

N. C, DAVIS TAPI NG- MACHI NE Filed May 21, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 5FIG-E111.

. E INVENTOI? WITNESSES 71 6 $22 Jan. 13. 1925. 1,522,502

N. C. DAVlS TAPING MACHINE Filed May 21, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m J h. 1f g In i III] INVN 70R mun/5555 W 6 %Cwb-o Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NORMAN. C. DAVIS, OF PERTH AMBOY,-NEW,JEIZSEY, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARDUNDER- GROUND CABLE COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, .A.CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TAPING MACHINE.

Application filed May-21, 1924. Serial No. 714,836.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, NORM'AN C. DAVIS, residing at Perth Amboy, in thecounty of Middlesex and State-of New Jersey, a citizen of the UnitedStates, have invented -or discovered certain new and useful Improvementsin Taping Machines, of which improvements the following is a'specification.

My invention relates to machinery for feeding a strip of paper or otherinsulating material of similar form to the surface of a conductor; thisfeeding of a strip is part of the operation of building up, upon thesurface of the conductor, of an envelope of insulation, of greater orless depth. That is to say, it concerns primarily machinery for buildingelectrical cables; but, as will he manifest after reading the ensuingspecification, the invention is applicable wherever such an operation isto be performed, whatever he the specific materials, and whatever be thecharacter of and the utility of the finished article.

This application is filed in substitution for, and is a continuation inpart of, an aplication filed by me July 7th, 1922, Serial 0. 573,424.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. I is a view in side elevation of acable-taping machine, in which myinvention is embodied; Fig. II is aview to larger scale and in transverse vertical section of the samemachine, on the plane indicated at 11-11,

Fig. I. Fig. II is in some respects diagrammatic, for thereel is shownwithout the tension device. Figs. III. IV, and V are views drawn tostill larger scale and showing the reel in verticaland medial section,in side elevation, and in end elevation, respectively. From Fig. III, asfrom Fig. II, the tension device has for clearness of illustration beenomitted. .Fig. VI- is a fragmentary View to still larger scale, showingin elevation the anchorage for the band of the tension device. Figs. VIIand VIII are views corresponding to Fig. I, although drawn to largerscale, and fragmentary in character, illustrating permissible variationsin detail. Fig. IX is a fragmentary view, correspondin to Fig. I, drawnto larger scale. and illustrating a supplementary adaptation. Fig. X isa'plan view from above, showing, on larger scale than Fig. I 'a portionof the apparatus which in Fig. I is shown in side elevation. Figs. andXII are views in side elevation of alternately applicable sets of gears.Their place in the structure appears in Fig. X, and the two figures, XIand XII, taken in connection with Fig. X, will sufficiently illustratean adaptation to be described in the ensuing specification.'

I here show my tension device applied to and made part of a cable tapingmachine, in which the conductor under treatment advances along astraight-away course, ad-

jacent to which course a tape reel is arranged, and relative movement isimparted to conductor and tape reel, such as to effect a drawing of thetape from the reel and a wrapping of the tape upon the conductor. InLetters Patent No. 1,450,584, granted April 3, 1923, to StandardUnderground Cable Company, assignee of the applicants, of whom I wasone, the support for the reel is stationary and the conductor rotates asit advances; in the machine illustrated here, the conductor has nomotion of rotation, but the reel describes a planetary orbit around theline of conductor advance as a center. The effects in the two cases are,for present purposes, the same, and the applicability of the inventionto either of the alternative arrangements indicated will be manifest,without further elaboration. It will be understood that the tensiondevice of this application is applicable, wherever a stripis drawn froma reel and laid down upon thesurfa'ce of a longitudinally advancingbody. In deed, in broadest aspect the invention so far as concerns reelstructure alone is applicable,

even to situations where there are no associated parts. With theseprefatory remarks, I shall describe the invention'in particularapplication to and as constituting part of the cable-taping machine ofFigs. I .and II.

In these drawings a drum 1 is shown trunnioned in a suitable frame, andthis is the receiving drum' for the taped conductor. The drum 1 isturned through suitable .mechanicalconnections from a shaft 7, which inturn is driven from a suitable source of power. As drum 1 turns, inclockwise direction as shown in Fig. I, a conductor C supplied incontinuous length advances along a straight-away course until it isreceived by and wound upon the drum. As it advances along suchstraight-away course the conductor is enveloped in the wrapped-on tape.

cage surrounds conductor C advancing on the straight-away coursementioned. The drawings show two cages.

Giving attention to the individual cage, it will be seen to consist ofheads 'or spiders 3, connected peripherally by rods 4:. The spiders aretrunnioned by hollow trunnions in'suitable standards 5, and are soplaced with respect to the other parts of the machine that the conductoradvancing on its straight-away course to drum 1 passes freely throughthe hollow trunnions. That is to say, the cage surrounds the advancingconductor and is rotatable on the line of conductor advance as an axis.Means are provided for rotating the cage, and such means may'conveniently take the form of asprocket drive 6 from shaft 7. Thus cableadvance and cage rotation may be interrelated and rendered synchronous.A clutch operating device is indicated at 8, and in it are found meansfor starting and stopping the machine at'will. Such means of driving thecable and the tape reel in 'synchronism admit, of the use of removableand interchangeable driving members of different'size to achievedifferent speed relationships, for ends presently to be defined. This isillustrated in Figs. XXII.

The drum 1 is driven from shaft 7 through the set of gears 33, 34. Thegears are borne on parallel shafts.- It is a well known detail ofengineering to provide in such case alternate sets of gears, such as33-34 and "3536, each set having the same center-tocenter distance, andso interchangeable upon the shafts, but the component pinions being ofdifferent relative size, and accordingly adapted to impart to the drum 1different speeds with respect ,to the rate of rotation of shaft 7. Itwill be perceived that by i i the reel 9 in its particular positionlongitu- I dinally of rod 4, and that a set-screw 10 affords means forsecurin the reel in the osition to which it .may e brought. Fig. I showsfurther the particular position of the reel in these respects, that thereel is remote from the conductor an appreciable distance, that the tapeas delivered by the reel extends in a position transverse to the lengthof the cable, that, more specifically, the axis of the roll of tapecoiled upon the reel lies in a plane perpendicular to the axis of frameturning (that is, to the line of conductor travel), and that the tapeadvancing from the reel makes a turn, specifically a quarter turn, inreaching its place on the surface of the conductor. On this latter pointsee the larger scale showing of Figs. III and IV This transversedelivery has advantage, as presently will appear; and the particularposition .of the reel makes possible further, either a righthand or aleft-hand wrapping of the tape upon the conductor, and wrapping uponconductors of varying size (within reasonable limits), withoutreadjustments in position. The angle formed by the line of strip advanceand the radial plane alluded to (cf. Fig. III) takes care of itselfautomatically, and increases as the depth of the wrapping increases.

' The primary advantage, due to this transverse delivery of thejstripfrom the reel,

and the consequent turning of the plane of the strip in its advance fromreel to conductor, is this: If the delivery be (as hitherto has beensought) in a position parallel to the axis of the conductor, then, whenthe lay is to be changed-that is to say, the angle at which the helicaltwist is laid,the position of the reel must be adjusted. And thisadjustment is troublesome, diflicult; it must be done by the cutand-trymethod, and consumes a great deal of time. I find that by giving up theidea that the strip as delivered from the reel should extend in a planeparallel with the axis of the conductor, and by so placing it that thedelivery is actually transverse, I may disregard the particular positionof the reel when a change is to be made in the lay. As I have said, theposition of the reel which I preferably adopt is that shown in thedrawings, where the strip as delivered extends perpendicularly to theaxis of the conductor. I find with this arrangement that change of laymay be effected by change in the relative speeds of conductor advanceand of orbital reel revolution, and that as such change is made thefeeding of the strip from reel to conductor adjusts itself automaticallyto the changed conditions.

It will be understood without elaboration that a plurality of reels mayhe so mounted upon the rods of the frame, and that adjustment of thereels one to another along the rods will determine the interval at whichthe tapes are successively applied to the conductor. And of coursesuccessive frames may carry successive reels or groups of reels. Whenmore than one frame is used, one frame may be rotated in one directionand another in opposite direction, to effect opposite wrapping.Referring particularly to clutch 32 of familiar form.

made.

Fig. IX, instead of the sprocket drive 6 of Fig. I, a bevel-gear drive,the well known alternate for a sprocket drive, is shown, and thisbevel-gear drive includes a reversing As this clutch is shifted tocomplete driving connection through one or the other of its pinionmembers, the frame is rotated in one direction or the other. And wherethere is a plurality of iframes, as shown in Fig. I, the provision ofsuchadrive as Fig. IX illustrates makes possible any desired combinationin the matter of direction of rotation and in consequent direction oflay;

'29 is a guide for the conductor C, and its purpose is to hold theconductor against distortion under the strain of wrapping. This is afeature dwelt upon in the companion "patent to which allusion hasalready been By such means the conductor as it advances may be envelopedin layers of wrapped on tapes, in such number and to such depth, andwith such reversals of direction of wrapping as may be required.

I have just explained, with the arrangement shown in Fig. I particularlyin mind, that as reel 9 is shifted longitudinally upon rod 4 of thecage, the point may be adjusted, where the particular strip is laid downupon the growing cable. In Figs. VII and VIII I show reels 9 which arenot themselves adjustable. In one case the reel is carried by the head 3of the cage, in the other by the rod 4, but in thelatter case it may beimmovable longitudinally upon the rod. But in each case a guide 31 isprovided, over which the strip passes, on its way from the reel to thegrowing cable, and this guide is adju's'tabledengitiulina ly, Qtth ase.upon rod 4, to accomplish the same end which in the structure of Fig I,is by adjustability of the reel longitudinally of the cage,accomplished.

In Fig. VII also indication is afl'orded, how from a plurality ofnon-adjustable reels a plurality of strips may be taken and laid down atsuccessive and adjustably fixed points.

My further descriptionwill have to do with features shown moreparticularly in Figs? III-VI.

A pan conveniently formed of metal and consisting of a circular plate 11with a marginal flange 12. and provided with'a central hub 13 issuitably mounted on a transversely extending axis adjacent the path ofadvance of conductor C. Fig. II," as has been remarked, shows a suitablemode of mount ing on one of the rods 4 of the frame already described.This pan and its hub have no motion of rotation. A roll of tape whenapplied is rotatable on hub 13, as presently will be more fullyexplained. The outer face of marginal flange 12 is truly cylindrical andsmooth. The flange is cut away throughout a part (ordinarily arelatively small part) of its extent. This cuttingaway is indicated ata, Fig. IV. A cover plate 14 is removably mounted on hub 13 and it isadjustable in its mounting and when brought to position is secured bywing nut 15. Both pan and cover are provided with openingsfconvenientlyopposite in their locations, through which theextent to which a roll oftape has been used, may be perceived. Fig. IV shows such an opening I)in pan 11.

flexible band 16, ordinarily of metal, smooth-faced on its under side,overlies flange 12, and means are provided for holding the band undertension, constricted upon flange 12. The band in its placement and inits holding means leaves uncovered and free of access the openingalready indicated, at a, but it advantageously extends, as best shown inFig. IV, throughout the and VI); at its opposite end band 16 is securedto a slide 19'.

greater portion of the extent of flange 12,,

Upon two brackets 20 and 21. also carried, 7

by plate 11, are borne aligned guides, 22, 23, andin these guides a rod24 is mounted to slide. A spring-backed latch 25 with a press button 28for release, holds rod 24 in the position shown in Figs. IV and V.The'rod 24, it will be remarked, extends in the midplane of flange 12and, but for a narrow space, is tangent to the circle of flange 12, andextends in such position circumferentially, that the slide 19 in whichband 16 terminates, is a slide upon rod 24.

Rod 24 is screw threaded toward its upper end and carries upon itsscrew-threaded. portion an adjustable nut 30. A spring 27 engaging nut30 and slide 19. tends to shift slide 19 downwardly on rod 24: a spring26 engaging guide 23 and slide 19 tends to shift slide'19- upwardlyagainst spring 27. Normally, latch 25 being in engagement with a notchformed in rod 24, the rod is secured against upward movement in itsslideway, and both springs are held under compression.

Band 16 normally encircles flange 12, as indicated in Figs. IV and V.The strength of spring 27 so far exceeds that of spring Q(;',--1 h; t.,hen the parts are assembled as upon button 28,both springs expand, rod24 is shifted upwardly, slide 19 aiso is shifted upwardly, and theconstriction of band 16 is relieved. 5 When the machine is to be madeready for for use, cover 14 is removed, and a roll of tape T, whichordinarily, will be carried on a spool B, is slipped upon hub 13, insuch position that in clockwise direction (Fig. IV), and the end of theroll is carried out throughthe opening a in flange 12. Cover 1 L isreplaced, moved inward until the spool is carried home, and thenslightly withdrawn, before wing nut is turned and the cover secured. Thefree end S of the coil of tape is then (band 16 being in inactive andslack position) carried over the outer face of flange 12 and betweenflange 12 and band 16 and beyond the end of band 16 tangentially toconductor'C, and it 'is secured to in unwinding the rotation is.

out through the opening inthe flange, cover 14 replaced, the new tapeslipped between flange-and band 16 and secured, perhaps to the cable,perhaps to the end of the previously applied tape. Rod 24 is then slid 7downward until latch 25 again secures it, and the reel is ready forrenewed operation.

When in the continued operation of the machine a change in lay isdesired, no-other adjustment-is required than such interchange 7 ofdriving'parts as shall causecondiictor advance and reel revolution toassume a new speed relationship. The feed .of the strip will as has beenexplained accommodate itself automatically to the change. It isrequisitein such a. machine, in order to produce a uniform article,andpractically perfect mfis the cab e ody shall, other things beth'esurface of conductor 0 in usual manner. ing equal, be invariablelongitudinally. along TheTdh24risthen depressed%it'ifor that purposeprovided with terminal knobs), until theT-latch 25 engages its notch.The band 16 is thus constricted upon the strip of tape facing flange12.-- The degree of constrictive stress-the strength of the tension uponthe tape-is, by the turning of the path of advanceof thecablebody,n.regardless of whether the coil or tape within the tape-reel be anew coil-ora coil nearly exhausted. Or, in common parlance, there shallbe no creep of thetape at the point where it meets the cable body.

These ends are gained, first of all, by elim- I 7 inating as asignificant factor in the opera- Withattention'upon Fig. IV, thedirection tion of the machine, the frictional resistance.

of right-line travel of conductor/C will be of the c011 of tape tounwinding. I provide a noted; it is, as here shown, from rightto'tension device whichengages the'paper after left, in the directionindicated by arrow 1'; it has been uncoiled; I'so mountthe coil of Asthe conductor advances the reel moves tape within the reel that itsresistance to unf bodily in planetary orbit around the oable' winding isinsignificant, and..within-.myjtenas a center. This planetary movementof sion device I so powerfully engage the tape the reel causes the tapeto-be drawn that the constant pull. upon the tape necesthe reel andwrapped upon: the conductor,; sary to draw it through the tensiondevicein the manner diagrammatically shown. '7 is ineainparatlygrnsr than thevariable nut 30, adjustable. Y

p The tension is such as to blanket and render of no practical efliectminor irregularities in resistance to unwinding, but the feed of the.tapejs smooth and regular, and the tape is laid down upon the conductorwithout wrinkle, firmly, andsecurely. The tension is constant, whetherthe spool of paper be full or nearly run out, and there is-no tearing ofthetape through' irregu laritiesfiiiieiifion.

The degree of tension may, as has been said, be'va'ried, as conditionsmay require or suggest.

When the end of a spool of tape is approaching, the fact may be noted,the machine may at the proper moment he stopped, and a full spool may besubstituted for the empty one. The machine may then be started again.There is a-minimum'loss of waste endsoftape,

'Th's removal of an empty spool and replacement of it by a full one is avery. simple" matter;-the machine is stopped, latch 25 released, cover14 removed, theiempty spool taken out, a new one put in, the new end ledupon the cable bodyciis. not exactly in the center plane of the coil Tbut is slightlyangular thereto, and it will be perceivedthat V" as thecable-body varies in size the line of "pull will vary irthisan'gularity.' Now by mounting the spool B which carries; the-toil 5 '1so. that itcan turn with the utmost domupon the hub 13, d byappLyii-thbfwrapping-resisting tension-torthe tape as it advances over flange .12,not. only is that tensionrendered constant, but certain othergoodyesults follow, which are essential to successfElTnach' e operationand thecproduction of auniformp mne of thesemlni good results hasalready been mentioned: it

is that the diminution in the size'of the coil T as the strip unwindsand is used up, has no effect to disturb the wrapping operation. Thereis on that account no irregul'arity; in wrapping. Second, the tapeleaves the coil 1 with the utmost freedom, The angling of l the tape onits path to the conductor, a feature just mentioned, does not bring afocus of strain at the point where the tape leaves the coil, where therewould be dan er of tearing. Instead, the tension is exerte upon the tapeafter it has advanced from the coil and lies upon flange 12 and beneathband 16. A third good result is this,--I have spoken of the angularityof the strain of wrapping with relation to the center plane of the coil,and have remarked that that angularity is one which is variable, eventhough minutely. Now the tape encircling flange 12 and overlainby band16 adjusts itself in position. The path of the tape does not changeabruptly at the point where the tape passes from beneath band 16, butthe tape assumes an angular athover the whole extent of lies in helicalcourse-uponflange 12. And because of-the relatively great extent offlange 12, the angle of the line of wrapping strain to the'mid-plane ofthe coil, instead of being wide, as would be the case were the striptaken directly from the coil, is reduced to insignificant d1mension.Furthermoreflhe' minute variations ,due to variations in the diameter ofthe cable body are reducedpractically to the vanishing ois point.Incidentally, I call attention to the fact, as shown in Fig. III, thatthe face of flange 12 is wider than the tape. Thus provision is madeforthat automatically assumed helical position of the tape upon the flangewhich I have just indicated. These minute matters become matters offirst importance in the building of a cable, where the utmost precisionto achieve substantially undeviating uniformity in product, isrequisite.

Certain variations in structure illustrated in Fig. VII becomenoteworthy here. It willbe remarked that the tape leaving the reel 9,before it reaches the guide 31 passes over a drum 37 It will be remarkedfurther that the reel 9 is turned, so that its mid-plane is transverseto the cable axis, while the axis of'drum 37 extends in a planeperpendicular to the cable axis, and the surface of drum 37 is tangentto the mid-plane of reel 9. In Fig. VII the tension band is for the sakeof simplicity of showing omitted from the reel. It will be understoodthat in this casethere will be no helical displacement of the strip asit advances over the outer surface of the reel, but that the helicaldisplacement will au-' tomatically occur upon the surface of drum 37,precisely as in the form shown in Fig. III 1t occurs upon the surface offlange 12. And by enlargin the surface over which that helical dlspacement occurs, its effect as a disturbing factor in manufacture isreduced to the vanishing point, and is in the structure shown actuallyeliminated.

It may further be remarked of the structure of Fig. VII, and the same istrue of Fig. VIII, that the position of the bolt of paper 9 may bevarled. The bolt may be placed in such position as will be mosteconomical from the point of view of machine designing and yet theabutment 31 being present, operation in the manner and to the endsdescribed will not be disturbed.

I have used the word conductor throughout this specification as ageneral term, .inclusive of a bare wire, and of a partially completedcable as well.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tape reel including a cylindrical case adapted to contain a roll oftape, the side wall of such cylindrical case being orificed for thepassage through of the strip-of tape advancing from the :roll within,and a friction band carried by the case and adapted to bear yieldinglyand with constrictive force upon a web of tape'advancing through theorifice in the side wall of the casing and overlying the side-wallexteriorly.

2. A tape reel including a cylindrical case adapted to contain a roll oftape, the side Wall of such cylindrical case being orificed for thepassage through of the strip of tape advancin from the roll within, afriction band anc lxored at one end tosaid case and adapted to overlieexternall the cylindrical wall of the case, a sh eway borne by saidcase, and yielding means resisted by constriction of said bandexterio'r-1y upon said case for advancing the otherwise free end of said bandalong said slideway.

3. In a cable-taping machine, means for causing a cable body to advanceon a straight-away course, a cage surrounding such course and rotatableon the mid-line of such course as an axis, a tape-reel borne by saidcage, a positioning abutment arranged intermediate tape-reel andcablebody course and adjustable longitudinally along the course of thecable body.

4. A tape-reel including a cylindrical case, means for sustaining a coilof paper freely rotatable within the case, the case itself being portedin its cylindrical wall, and means cooperating externally with thecylindrical wall of the case for exerting tension upon advance from thecoil to its place upon the tapethe cable, the saidmeans leavin free oflateral restraint as it a vances to the said cylindrical abutment;

- 6. In ;c able-making apparatus means for sustaining a length ofunfinished cable in strai ht-away course, means for sustaining.

a.co i of tape adjacent to such course, means for imparting to cable andto tape-coil relative motions of longitudinal advance and of planetaryrevolution, two cylindrical surfaces arranged on axestransverse tothecable course over which the tape is caused lindrical surface concentricwith the bolt and retarding the progress of the tape along such helicalcourse, and wrapping the tape upon a surface extending transversely tothe axis of the body to be taped in its further progress from thecylindrical surface to the surface of the article to be taped. Intestimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. i

NORMAN C. DAVIS. Witnesses:

GEORGE J. SHUn'rs, WILLARD RANKIN.

